Recently, I had a customer come in and tell me that she heard on some televison show that women size 12 and above are not supposed to wear bling on the pockets of their jeans.  Because she had heard this and taken it to heart, she wouldn't consider even looking at several brands of pants that have bling embellishments.  I could tell she really liked them, but she was determined to listen to the advice she'd heard.

As I reflected on this later, I thought how often an "expert" has fashion advice for women that I feel is wrong.  We carry several lines of jeans that have bling on the pocket including Multiples, Not Your Daughter's Jeans, and Tru Luxe.  What I find amazing is that these lines are all top sellers not only for us but also across the country.  All of these brands go up to size 18 or 20.  Multiples and Tru Luxe are both made by Sharon Young, a brand that has been around for a long time and continues to be a top performer.  What's more is that all of these brands are targeted at a 50 plus customer and have well paid and well credentialed designers and design teams.  They are not going to put thier money into a pant they intend to sell to only 1/4 of US women. 

So, my question would be, did my customer misunderstand the fashion advice she received?  Perhaps the "expert" made a condition that larger women should avoid oversized bling on the back pockets of their jeans and my customer heard "all bling" instead of "oversized bling."  Or perhaps this fashion tip was presented exactly how my customer understood it – no bling if you are a size 12 or bigger. 

My advice is don't listen to whatever fashion expert appears to be giving fashion advice.  Look at what well respected designers are doing.  Consider the context of the fashion advice – who is the target audience?  Consider also, the motivation of the fashion advice.  Is this a person who REALLY knows what he or she is talking about?  And, in the end, do what you like.  Any trend can be wearable if done in an age appropriate way.